Given the recent restrictions placed on fees and interest rates, the nation’s banks are looking for extra pennies anywhere they can get them. As a result, it’s now costing you to do everything from redeeming your own reward points to receiving money in your account. “Like any business, a bank has to produce enough revenue [...]
For the first time in more than three years, consumers say they are happier with their banks. No, this isn’t a joke. While you can find stories every day about new fees popping up, and credit card interest rates rising as banks squirm under new regulations, consumers have actually become more satisfied with their banking experiences this [...]
Declined! Your debit card may soon be denied for purchases greater than $100 — or even as little as $50. JPMorgan Chase, one of the nation’s largest banks, is considering capping debit card transactions at either $50 or $100, according to a source with knowledge of the proposal. And the cap would apply even if [...]
The nation’s largest banks are testing how much their customers are willing to pay for checking-account services that used to be free. Bank of America Corp. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., the two biggest banks as measured by assets, have begun trying new fees in pilot tests from Hayward, Wis., to Newnan, Ga. They [...]
A year after Congress voted to limit the amount that credit cards can charge for transactions, lobbyists for big banks and credit card companies are lobbying congressmen to delay implementation of the changes. The proposed postponement will cost customers and retailers more than $1 billion a month, the Washington-based National Retail Federation (NRF) said Thursday. [...]
Sometimes it seems that the more dire your need for a loan, the more likely you are to be ignored by the banks. While there has reportedly been a loosening in the credit market, the reality for many people feels quite different. It’s not surprising then, that peer-to-peer lending is increasingly catching on with borrowers, [...]
It’s like Night of the Living Dead: Every time the feds kill off a set of fees, they come back to life — just in slightly different forms. Chase said that on Feb. 8 it will be enrolling new customers in a new Total Checking account and charging them a $12 monthly maintenance fee. Similarly, [...]
The Obama administration on Monday plans to announce a campaign to pressure mortgage companies to reduce payments for many more troubled homeowners, as evidence mounts that a $75 billion taxpayer-financed effort aimed at stemming foreclosures is foundering. In February, President Obama announced the program to help keep people in their homes. “The banks are not [...]
The cascade of bank failures this year surpassed 100 on Friday, the most in nearly two decades. And the trouble in the banking system from bad loans and the recession goes even deeper. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of other banks remain open even though they are as weak as many that have been shuttered. Regulators are [...]
Banks have been told by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to deal fairly with people who ask for the return of overdraft charges because of hardship. Under Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules, banks are supposed to treat hardship claims sympathetically. But the FOS says it has received many complaints that this is not happening. The [...]
Spending money wisely, from home repair to shopping
